Code: 10845
Emperor Nero Gold Aureus
Rome mint, (AD 55-56).
Obverse: NERO CAESAR, Laureate head of Nero facing right.
Reverse: AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, The Colossus of Nero, statue of Nero wearing a radiate crown, standing facing, holding Victory and a branch.
RIC I 46; Calicó 402; BMCRE 56-9; BN 202-5; Biaggi 221.
7.2 grams, 19 mm in diameter.
Practically extremely Fine, with a very detailed portrait, much better than usual for the type.
*This scarce gold aureus of the Emperor Nero shows the colossal statue, depicting the emperor as the Sun God (Sol), which stood outside of Nero’s notorious Domus Aurea, or “Golden House”, which was a vast landscaped complex built by Nero on the Oppian Hill, in the heart of Rome after the great fire in 64 AD.
Following Nero’s demise the statue was moved, and likely reworked to eradicate his face. It was placed beside the Flavian Amphitheatre, which became known as the Colosseum, due to the colossal statue, which stood to the side of it.
